How much are you paying for your energy?

[Howandwhy]

I'm curious to know what everyone else is paying as I was previously with octopus energy paying £100 per month (old tariff) for gas and electric and always has a surplus at the end of each month.

When that tariff expired, U switch suggested So Energy, so I moved to them. They were charging £110 per month. After around 10 months or so I got a call from So Energy to say that I'm £900 behind in payments, but I've been paying each month. They explain that my usage is high!

I'm in a 4 bed semi, 1 adult and 1 primary school aged child. Heating is only used in the rooms being used, double glazing and insulation throughout, tumble dryer used once a week to dry towels. I work from home a few days a week without the heating on.

We agreed I'd pay £150 per month to clear the debt (yes this will take time but they wanted £400 a month)! We agreed this over the phone and in an email setting out the agreement but there was a sticking point.

Before we made this agreement they wanted to take the £900 in one go, which I refused. I cancelled the direct debit and set up a standing order to prevent them helping themselves. The Citizens Advice Bureau said that was the right thing to do, as they often get calls from people who's bank accounts have already been ransacked.

In our written agreement they say they would prefer direct debit (of course they would) but will accept my standing order but as their system is automated and doesn't recognise standing orders I'll still receive letters from them from time to time about the outstanding amount. I said that's fine as we have a written agreement.

I paid as usual each month to the agreed amount but a few months later I get a call from debt collectors for So Energy. I explain that I already have an agreement and email this to them. They agree that this looks like an agreement and put their actions on hold whilst they queried the agreement with So Energy.

In the meantime So Energy have made a negative mark on my credit file. I was not told to expect any of this when we made our agreement.

Yesterday I got a call from their debt collectors (and they've been to my house) to say that the arrears are now £1,500 which was built up over the summer months when no heating was being used and still isn't being used and I am still paying £150 per month. I don't understand why this bill is still climbing?

I reminded the debt collectors (connexus) about the written agreement between So Energy and I buy they said that So Energy told them to disregard that and continue as as far as they're concerned, there is no agreement!

We have gone down a dangerous road when these companies can have a written agreement but then decide to breech it with the full support of the agencies set up to help us, the public.

The Energy Ombudsman's response was that So Energy had the right to recover their costs. The Ombudsman's report never once mentioned the written agreement. Citizens Advice said they get many calls about this but there's nothing that they can do.

Has anyone else experienced this?

It is a smart meter. I've never had one before.

Do the readings on your bills show as estimates, or actual smart meter readings?

Over the course of the year, it averages out at £900 a year - for gas and electric combined. British Gas. Small-ish 2-bed detached 1930s cottage. (Just DH and I living here as the DC are grown, and have left.)

It's about £17 per week. Obviously it's more in the winter and less in the summer. But the yearly amount is around £900. We are in quite a lot too, as I work from home, and DH works sort of part time - 28 hours a week.

We have loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, and UPVC windows and doors that are only around 12 years old. Also, our gas boiler and radiators, and our electric panel are only 12 years old too. So this possibly keeps the bills down.

£400 a month for a 4 bed semi sounds insane. I would be disputing this @Howandwhy

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I pay £300 per month, I'm about £200 in credit. I was paying £360. 4 bed semi, high usage (family of 6 plus an home office in the garden) We had a faulty fridge freezer that was costing an additional £170 per month!

Me too.. we pay 192 a month in 4 bed house

We pay £300 a month and are just over £1000 in credit - our house is old, draughty and cold so the heating is on a lot in winter (DH and I both at home) so no doubt a lot of that excess will be used up in winter! It’s a 4 bed semi

I live in a 2-bed 1930s semi (no cavity walls). Our monthly direct debit £230 per month for gas and electric. The gas is is £143 per month (average over 12 months). We have the heating on a lot. One adult works from home and has a health condition.

Just recently changed supplier, but prior we were with EDF and paid £190 a month, in a 3 bed semi... and had small credit of £100.

Now moved to a new supplier, who charge actual usage ( so no build up or deficit will happen going forward ). And in August we used £130, and projected to use £140ish in Sept

I pay £150 per month to octopus and provide monthly readings. Currently paying about £60 per month, so a whopping £1000 in credit. 3 bedroom semi. 3 of us in the house but out most days

We're paying Over £350 a month to Eon as we were on their Flex tariff.
Just switched to a random small company tariff and got it down to £270.

We easily use £600-700 a month in winter :(

4/5 bed semi, Victorian single glazing in Scotland with high ceilings and solid stone walls.

Octopus, 3 bed semi. £180 a month.

Our electricity bill is £285 and gas is around £150 per month. Our water is £110 per month too.

Makes me think that we really don’t keep tabs on what we are doing. Tumble dryer is on most days for a couple of loads, washing machine, long showers, deep baths, AGA 24/7, heating when needed though the house seldomly gets lower than 19oc even in winter due to good insulation and the heat from the kitchen.

£110 4 bed detached. Just dropped from 125 as I was £500 in credit.

£475 a month. Five bedroom detached house.

My combined gas and electric bill the last 2 months has been around £52/month.
In the depths of winter the bill can be around £180.

Single, living in a 3 bed Victorian terrace.
Thermostat set to 18c and heating doesn’t come on at all through the summer.

I pay by variable direct debit. Meter readings submitted on 21st with direct debit taken 2 weeks later.
I have no issue paying for exactly what I use on a monthly basis instead of giving these companies a credit facility at my expense.

Averaged over the year it’s around £90/month.

This appears to have been over a timescale of at least a couple of years, which means that it's coincided with the massive increase in energy costs - building up £900 of debt in under a year agrees with this - unit costs/standing charges don't actually vary by that much between suppliers - 10/20% at most, so it's likely that you should have been paying £200 all along, so the £150 was never going to be enough.

You need to make arrangements to pay for the energy you've used and then pay the right amount going forwards. £200 for a 4 bed house is probably about right, especially if it's an older property with poor insulation and high ceilings. But you'll be able to see this by looking at your bills, annual usage and plugging the numbers into a comparison site.

I think you need to have a lot more control over your usage, locate your meter and keep an eye on it and make sure that you're being billed for actual usage.

I'm on octopus agile where they give you half hourly rates linked to your smart meter. It's been a game changer, my bill was nearly 300pm now it's 75 in summer and 110 in winter. I don't build up credit, I'd rather the money sat in my account than the energy company's.

I changed all my habits and set delay timers on all my appliances.

First step find your meter, or use the supplier’s app or your in home device to check your usage.

energy usage is based on what you use. Prices across suppliers are broadly the same so it’s hard to compare what others are paying - two people in the same size property with equivalent households will pay different amounts (some times very different) due to their usage.

If you have already been to the energy ombudsman that’s the end of the road for your complaint - they’re very thorough and will have made SO energy produce all the bills and proof that you’ve been billed accurately for the usage.

aak SO to check your smart meter is giving accurate readings - the tech is imperfect but you really shouldn’t be having catch up bills when you’re on smart.

and then find a different supplier - SO have a terrible customer service rating!

Switched to EDF from OVO recently, EDF suggested a direct debit of £95 based on yearly bill (in kWh) from OVO. We also recently had smart meter installed and at the moment we are using about £1.60-£1.80 a day (standing charge included) so I popped my direct debit a bit higher (£115) in order not to get in too much debt over the winter.
We are in 3 bed semi, double glazing, cavity walls, heating on thermostat 19C, no EV.

Our meter is set into the brickwork behind a little metal door, so worth looking around the outside of your house - it' towards the back of the house, nowhere near the gas meter. The kitchen units are behind it and there's an isolating fuse, so if you have one that's separate from trip switches, have a look nearly for a meter. If you really can't locate it, I'd speak to your energy supplier and ask them how they're getting readings. If they're estimating them, ask if they can take an actual meter reading!

We're with Octopus, actually paying £100pm (£400 in credit). Two adults, radiators are on in every room, although some are low (the one radiator my parents used to switch off, froze and burst, so not worth risking that). Our house is a converted two bedroom bungalow with two extra bedrooms and bathroom in the dormer and an extended lounge. Double glazed. We tend to have the heating set around 18/18c (occasionally will boost up to 19c), which probably helps keep it a bit lower.

I have 1 meter outside (gas) and then other (electricity) is inside beside the consumer unit/fuse box. Where is your fuse box and are there any meters there too?

In the summer it was averaging £90-100
My last bill (August was £90)
2 adults - detached - 3 bed - 2 children (6&3)
But I pay £138 a month DD so the overpayments will come in handy for winter and always gets used up when my winter bills are more than £138.

I’m current paying £190 pm for gas and electricity with Octopus, which builds up a credit in the warmer months (to take me through the winter).

3 bed semi, 2 adults 1 teen. Direct debit is £260 a month with Octopus.

@Howandwhy I’m surprised you think you have to be asked for an opening meter reading. It’s fairly common knowledge that you should provide one when you move into a new property or risk being charged for your predecessor’s usage.